captioning by vitac, underwritten by fireman's fund reporting from tampa, i'm belva davis at the republican national convention where delegates rally behind their candidate. >> i accept your nomination for president of the united states. >> california delegates started to boost the turnout for the election in an overwhelmingly blue state and across the country. >> the tea party is mobilizing to get out the vote. >> and party leaders outline their strategies. >> nancy pelosi declared us a battle ground state. we need to bring home the congressional races. >> and former secretary of state condoleezza rice on the romney administration and foreign policy. >> i hope the congress and

president together will undertake immigration reform. the states cannot have their own immigration policies. >> coming up next. >> belva: good evening. i'm belva davis. welcome to this special edition of "this week in northern california." it's been an exciting week here in tampa reporting from the republican national convention. i spent most of my time hearing from the california delegates about their hopes for a romney/ryan administration.

>> i accept your nomination for president of the united states. >> belva: mitt romney's acceptance speech on thursday reinforced his campaign goal. keeping the issue of jobs and economy front and center in the political debate. >> i have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. >> belva: it's a message that appeals to the largest delegation at the convention. >> california, the state that gave america and the world, the inspirational relationship of ronald reagan and proudly cast all of our 172 votes. governor mitt romney. >> belva: we asked former governor pete wilson what romney would do if elected.

>> i would say california needs to help itself. if you help the national economy, you will help 13% of the nation's people who live in california. >> belva: earlier this month, romney slammed california comparing it to failed european economies like greece and spain. party leaders echoed that tone during the delegation kickoff event monday morning. >> california is not competitive. california is losing good jobs every day. no corporate executive of a major s&p 500 or fortune 500 company is considering moving to california. >> california is at the bottom of the measure. when it comes to the housing. we were voted the worst in the country. >> belva: house majority whip kevin mccarthy placed the blame on the democrats in power in sacramento. >> i met with the governor. i said, mr. governor, i lived in

california my entire life. i'm frustrated. i watched us go from first to last. you know what governor brown said? we're not all the way last. that's his answer. >> belva: now a chance to mix and mingle with party leaders, delegates came seeking the inspiration for the tough battle ahead as the party struggles to stay relevant in an overwhelmingly blue state. >> that does not release you from your obligations. there is still plenty for us to do for governor romney and congress member ryan over the course of the next 70 plus days. it is time to get to work. >> belva: voter registration in california for republicans has dropped to just a little over 30%. making it difficult for them to defeat barack obama. but like their colleagues in red states, california republicans are doing all they can to

deliver the country from mitt romney. >> the tea party is mobilizing to help get out the vote. we're going to reno in september and october. >> belva: california republican party chair tom declared his plan. >> nancy pelosi declared us a battle ground state. what i can do is make sure we can bring home the congressional races and hold on to the state senate. >> belva: some notable california republicans skipped the convince opting to stay home and campaign. but running against senator dianne feinstein decided to attend at the last minute. >> what gives you hope? >> the way we are polling gives me hope. she is at the lowest of her career. i'm 12 points behind her. that is a horse race to me. befrnlts anoth

>> belva: another hopeful has become a rising star for the party and used his time in the national spotlight to talk about how the republican party can appeal to minority voters. >> my parents emigrated to the valley from india and africa with only their love for each other. a strong work ethic and the enduring desire to pursue their american dream. we need a new generation of leadership to chart the path. to fight for policies that create jobs rather than red tape. and to help small businesses succeed. >> i represent, you know, a community right now that is really searching for something better. we have double the national unemployment in that district. we had the biggest bankruptcy in the country. you send the same team to washington, you cannot expect a different result. >> belva: like gill, the democratic representative is hoping to convince other asian americans to swing to the republican side.

>> as an asian american and minority in the country, we own a lot of small businesses. we are in a deficit. we are going down. i think under the new leadership, romney and ryan, this small business will come up and make a difference and we will grow the economy. >> belva: what most delegates did not see this week were groups of protesters who were kept far from the convention site by a massive police presence. the exception? san francisco based code pink who unfurled banners during paul ryan's speech and staged a mock arrest of condoleezza rice. and now for analysis of some of the week's highlights with a uniquely california perspective i'm joined by carla marinucci of the chronicle, doug sovern of

kcbs radio and john baird of knx radio. we have all been here for this unpredictable week. carla, do we now know who mitt romney is? >> we saw, belva, the reset of the mitt romney campaign. they needed to introduce him as someone other than a millionaire or bain corporate raider or job outsourcer. we saw all week long at the convention, friends and his wife, ann, delivering a great speech and trying to show or fill in the picture of who mitt romney was. you saw it the final night when members of his church come forward and family. that is the goal of the republicans right now. to introduce him to america. >> belva: john, do you feel you know him? >> i don't know we know who mitt romney is. do we ever know who these men or women are? who they are is who he wants

america to see him as. a family man and church man. the man who will turn the country around. a seasoned business leader. i found it odd some of the messaging during the week. i did not think it was as unified as we usually see from the republicans. although the speeches from his church and people who he helped throughout his life were moving and effective. i also found it odd that if you have to present a parade of character witnesses and defending you and saying mitt romney is a decent guy, then you are starting as a deficit. he knows he has an image problem. >> belva: let's turn to john. the biggest person who came out was clint eastwood. >> i talked to the delegates afterwards and they said they loved it. they loved clint eastwood.

i thought it went over well. i saw things on the internet that basically slammed him, but they enjoyed it. >> on tv? this was "make my day" ruin my speech for mitt romney. he went over time. he was disjointed. i think the headlines are going to be more about the bizarre moment at the political convention. >> the delegates did enjoy it. they loved clint eastwood. a lot could not hear what he was saying. when i talked to them, they enjoyed him. on tv it did not go over well. it was ad libbed. the romney team was fuming. they allowed three minutes for eastwood. he went 12 or 13. it was -- >> belva: this is supposed to be about jobs and the economy. you had a unique experience about jobs. >> as far as the small business angle at the convention.

for those of us who have been to the conventions, you see the marketplace where they sell the campaign buttons and they set up. they will be there in charlotte. they have been at republican and democratic. this campaign which is all about small business, that has been slamming president obama for being hostile to small business. romney campaign wanted to maximize revenue. they borrowed the small business merchants who they say in the convention speeches they are here to help and do a better job protecting. >> you know, belva, i have to say throughout the week, the republicans were slamming obama on you didn't build that. that statement that he made. i think it was striking. we did not hear a lot of detail from any of them on how they would change the picture. romney said he would deliver 12 million jobs in his first term, but how exactly? we didn't really hear that. neither from paul ryan did we

hear. >> it was interesting talking to delegates afterwards. they said they felt he did layout detail of a plan of what he will do. the five points at the end. they walked away feeling that he did deliver a message. >> belva: the other message they were trying to get over to us is yes, they are high on women and the candidate's mom ran for office with the full support of the father. how did they do on the women's issue and the immigration? those were the two things they worked on hard in programming. >> we should let the woman answer first. >> i think women were the strongest speakers in the convention. when you talk about condi rice, the delegates were wild about her. they are already talking about her as being the next governor of california. you know, women all around the hall heard from susan martinez and ann romney was the

highlight. >> belva: we will take a few seconds before we hear from the celebrities you talked about. >> in the speech tonight, i got a text from my wife afterwards saying i want a rose every day. mitt romney told that story and that was one personal touch that we heard from him. we didn't hear a lot about that. it apparently made its mark with women. >> i thought the women were very strong. it shows they are trying too hard. he know where is his deficits are. it was obvious when he tried to correct them. >> belva: you spoke about condoleezza rice. i spoke with her also. the californian and former secretary of state under george w. bush, her speech was one of the highlights here. >> and on a personal note, a little girl grows up in birmingham, the segregated city of the south where her parents can't take her to a movie theater or to a restaurant, but they have her absolutely

convinced even if she can't have a hamburger at the woolworth's lunch counter, she could become the president of the united states and she becomes the secretary of state. >> belva: first of all, welcome to the program. >> thank you. >> belva: in the speech, you said the question of the hour is where does america stand? in a recent op-ed piece, you question baghdad. do you think that troops should be sent back into iraq? >> i absolutely do not think we need to send troops back to iraq. we have done our job in iraq in the military sense. i mean engagement diplomatically and engagement with the people of iraq. iraq has very troublesome neighbors. a successful iraq has the potential to change the face of the middle east. our engagement should be deep, but it should be political,

diplomatic and social and economic. >> belva: how do you think the rise of china will or does have an effect on the health of california? >> the rise of china as an economic power is one of the major stories of the late 20th and 21st century. i was in china in 1988 in beijing. the streets of beijing were a competition between a few horse carts and automobiles and a lot of bicycles. that is not the china of today. it has been an economic miracle. china, it can be an economic miracle which is good for the international economy. we should be able to have the chinese have freer trade to have exports into china. we need robust chinese economic growth to fuel the international economy. but we also need china to play by the rules. that's the hard part.

a free and fair relationship with china benefits the american economy. >> belva: china is moving vigorously across the world. signing with agreements in africa and south america. what do you make of that? >> the chinese are doing what we should be doing. they are pressing very hard to find free trade partners across the world. that is how you build your economy. rather than criticizing the chinese for taking advantages of the possibility of free trade. >> belva: the question of immigration has been a high one through the election season. you did not receive a lot of applause when you made your comment about humane immigration policy. what do you advocate and do you think the party is in line with your thoughts? >> well, we really do have to have comprehensive immigration

reform. we have to have it for three important reasons. number one, we need to secure or borders. that is something everybody agrees on. secondly, we all know this is an economic benefit. immigration brings people who need to make $5 and agriculture is dependent on those people. we also know that at the so-called high end in places like silicon valley, across the bay and berkeley, we know that people are coming here as engineers and scientists and they are helping to fuel that knowledge-based revolution that california is leading. so, we need the economic benefits of immigration. more than anything, we are a nation of immigrants and after the election, i hope that as a country, the president and the congress together, will undertake immigration reform because it's something we have to do at the federal level. the states really can't have their own immigration policies.

>> belva: you were quite emotional when you spoke about education. you said the failure of educating minority and poor students from k-12 was threatening the fabric of our society. you called it a civil rights issue. >> absolutely. it is a civil rights issue. because you cannot take advantage of the benefits of being american. whether you came here from another place or born here. i think it is especially a civil rights issue for the poorest kids trapped in the worst schools. the truth is, people opt out of bad schools if they have the means. they send their kids to private school or maybe they go to a district where the schools are good. the people who are trapped there are the poorest. that is the height of inequity. >> belva: we're at a time now particularly here in florida and other key swing states where voting rights are being challenged. what is your feeling? what is your reaction? >> i understand that people want to make sure that there is no

voter fraud. i understand that. i also understand that the argument that their aure auough a way to identify yourself as a voter. let's make it easy to get identification. i don't like very much the argument that somehow minorities can't get an i.d. that seems to incense people to me. we have to find a way to make it easy. the states are reacting because the federal government has not. we do need to solve this problem. let's give people time and let's do it in a way that doesn't make it difficult for people to exercise their franchise. >> belva: finally the question of women and the party and their role in the party and the reputation the party has built over remarks here and there that there is a war against women going on. >> there is no war against

women. this is hyperbole of the worst sort. we should not caricature. there are people who have strong beliefs about issues of abortion, about life, about choice. strong issues. let's respect each other. this is the party that has a lot of powerful and strong women within it. many of them who have views that may be different than my own. we respect each other. i fell welcome in this party. i think it is time to stop the caricature and hyperbole. >> belva: i would be dismiss if i did not ask about augusta. had you applied or did they come after you? what happened? >> it was really quite a surprise out of the blue. augusta is a private club. they have their own prophecy. i was honored to be asked to join augusta. as i said some time ago, it is a private club. we know the face of america and

the face of everything is changi changing. it was obvious the face of golf was going to change, too. i am honored to be there. augusta does a lot of good work with growing the game among youth. that is something i would like to see because i would like to see a broadening of the base of people who play golf in terms of color and gender. but, mostly i'm really looking forward to trying to improve my short game so i can play augusta well. >> belva: dr. rice, thank you so much. >> thank you so much. it is a pleasure to be with you. >> belva: in that conversation, we touched on issues of the republican party and women and voter suppression. she seemed to be supportive of these policies. i was a little bit surprised. >> i think condoleezza rice resonates with these delegates here and with republicans across the country. talking to california delegates, as i mentioned, they are already talking about her running for office. what we saw from her this week

was just a strong communicator. somebody who was up there again without a teleprompter. knew how to get the republican and romney message across. >> she is a rock star of the party. she is a party woman. she has been a staunch defender of those she worked with. i'm not surprised she is not bothered by those policies. >> belva: the florida native. >> marco rubio. >> he was one of the stars. no question. we saw a lot of the bench of the republican party. the next wave. chris christie and marco rubio. >> i thought rubio's speech was similar to the barack obama speech in 2004 when he grabbed the attention. it was a compelling speech. i think the best speech of the convention. >> it was strong leading into

mitt romney's. he captured the crowd. one of the things i was thinking was wow. how was mitt romney going to sound after marco rubio is done? >> a high bar. >> belva: what we didn't talk about was the protest that was expected here. we know about the storm and that threw schedules off. are you surprised that there wasn't more people on the streets? >> whatever happened to occupy? we thought the first convention with occupy wall street. i was prepared for a big protest. i never covered a convention where i did not have to run out of the hall because something crazy happening on the street. it did not happen here. >> only a handful of arrests. i think the most interesting thing was we saw every night code pink enacted in the convention hall and another feet away from the bay area. only feet away from the speakers. they managed to create more interest on the protest side than just about any other group. >> also because of the area

outside. the way it was locked down tightly. people couldn't get close here. so, it surprised me a bit tonight and maybe it shouldn't when the protesters disrupted things in the hall during mitt romney's speech. you could not see it on tv. people didn't know that. it distracted people inside the hall for a couple of minutes. >> the weather kept the protests down. it rained the first couple of days. i wonder if there are most protests if people on the left are angry with barack obama right now than they are with the republican party. >> belva: one of the protest leaders said over $50 million had been spent on security and on police officers to keep this area calm as we saw it. so, we can understand what happened. it was difficult for us to get in and out of here. that is all the time we have. i want to thank you, carla and doug and john for being here. i'll be reporting from the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina next week.

i'll speak with california delegates and senator dianne feinstein and kamala harris. i hope you will join us. you can catch us anytime at kqed.org/thisweek. i'm belva davis. thank you for watching. good night.